Dispensing apparatus



D. G. FRAZIER. DISPENSING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 18, 1920.

Patented Nov. 11, 1921.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DISPENSING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 18, 1920. Serial No. 366,873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID G. FRAZIER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of University city, St. Louis county, Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Dispensing Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for dispensing liquids and is particularly adapted for use at oil filling stations for dispensing gasolene and the like to automobilists and other consumers.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide simple and efiicient apparatus for accurately measuring-and delivering a predetermined amount of liquid. Another object is to enable the purchaser to observe the delivery of a predetermined bulk of gasolene from the containers, thereby satisfying the purchaser that the full quantity of gasolene ordered is delivered.

Another object is to provide for the fillingof one container as the other container is emptied. Another object is to provide a plurality of. pairs of containers, each pair containing a diflerent amount of liquid and communicating with a single delivery pipe whereby communication between any single container and the delivery pipe can be established to deliver its contents, or communication can be established between any one or more of the-containers and the delivery pipe whereby the sum total of the liquid of the several containers selected will equal the amount of gasolene desired. The invention consists in the combination and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

The accompanying drawing, which is a side elevation, illustrates a dispenslng ap paratus embodying my invention.

The dispensing apparatus shown in the accompanying drawing comprises four pairs of containers 1, 2, 5 and 10 which are preferably arranged alongside of each other in a single row, the two containers of a pair being of the same size and adapted to contain the same amount of'liquid, but the containers of difierent pairs containing different amounts of liquid, the sizes of the containers from one end of the row to the other en For instance, as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, each of the containers of pair 1 is adapted to contain one gallon of gasolene, of pair 2, two gallons, of pair 5, five gallons and of pair 10, ten gallons and so on according to the number of containers desired.

The containers are supported on a shelf or rack 3 and are filled from an auxiliary supply tank 4 which has a pipe 6 leading from a main source of supply. Leading from the tank 4 is a horizontally disposed feed pipe 7 which has a number of vertically disposed feed branches 8 extending downwardly Patented Nov. 1, 1921. r

therefrom. These branch pipes extend downwardly between the containers of each pair to a point below the bottoms of the containers, where they are each provided with a valve 9 and are thence directed upwardly and connected to the upper portions of the containers.

Each of the containers is provided with an outlet pipe 11 which extends downwardly from the bottom thereof and is connected to a main delivery pipe 12 that extends longitudinally of the row of containers. The delivery pipe 12 is provided at one end with a delivery hose 13 which forms means for delivering the gasolene into the automobile.

The outlet pipes 11 are provided with valves 14, the valve 14 of one container of a pair being arranged adjacent to the valve 9 in the feed pipe 8 which leads to the other container of said pair so as to permit the valve stems of the valves 9 and 14 of each pair of containers to be operated by a single valve lever 15.

Each container is also provided with an overflow pipe 16 which is positioned so as to limit the volume of gasolene in each container to a predetermined amount, that is, the amount indicated on the outside of the container. The overflow pipes 16 extend downwardly and are connected to a return pipe 17 which leads to the main reservoir (not shown). The gasolene is forced by a suitable pump (not shown) into the auxiliary tank 4 from the main reservoir through the pipe 6. This arrangement permits the overflow liquid to return to the main reservoir. The valves 9 and 14, which control the filling and emptying of the containers are normally closed, and one container of each pair is always filled and the other container is always empty.

Each container is provided with a pane of glass 18 in its "front side through which the purchaser can observe the filling and emptying of the container and feel satisfied that he is getting the full quantity of ga 0 ene.

' to the empty container.

With the hereinbefore described apparatus, the filling of one container and the emptying of the other container of each pair of containers is controlled by operating the valve levers 15. For instance, if the purchaser desires ten gallons of gasolene, the valve lever which controls the opening of the valve 14 in the outlet pipe 11 of the full tank 10 and the opening of the valve 9 in the branch 8 of the feed pipe 7 of the empty tank 1 is operated to' simultaneously open both of said valves 9 and 14c. The action of opening the valve 14 and the outlet pipe 11 of the container permits the contents of the full container to flow into the delivery pipe 12 and be delivered through the hose 13 into the automobile, while the action of opening the valve 9 in the branch pipe 8 of the main feed pipe 7 permits the flow of gasolene from the auxiliary supply tank 4 Thus, when one tank of a pair is being emptied, the other tank of said pair is being filled. After the tank has been emptied and the other tank has been filled, the hand lever is operated to close the valves 9 and 14, thus closing the outlet pipe of the container which has been emptied and also cutting ofi' the flow of gasolene to the tank that has been filled Should the operator neglect to close the valves after delivering the gasolene to the purchaser, no waste of gasolene is occasioned thereby, as the desired level is maintained by overflow pipes 16 and the surplus gasolene will flow into the overflow pipe and thence into the return pipe 17 and be returned to the main reservoir.

My dispensing apparatus is capable of dispensing different amounts of gasolene. For instance, should the purchaser desire eight gallons of gasolene the valve levers are operated to open the valves 14 in the outlet pipes 11 of the tanks 1, 2 and 5, the total contents of which equal eight gallons, thus permitting the contents of said tanks to fiow into the delivery pipe and be delivered to the automobile through the nozzle in the delivery hose 13.

The hereinbefore described apparatus permits of considerable modification without departing from the invention, therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the exact arrangement or details of construction shown and described.

What I claim is:

1. A gasolene dispensing apparatus comprising a series of containers arranged in pairs, normally closed valve means for each pair of containers for controlling the admission to one container of a pair and the discharge from the other container, and hand levers connecting the valve means which controls the admission to one container of a pair with the valve means which controls the discharge from the other container of said pair, whereby the operation of a hand lever permits one container of the pair controlled thereby to empty and the other to fill, the filling and emptying of said containers being simultaneous.

2. A gasolene dispensing apparatus comprising a plurality of containers arranged in pairs, the containers of a pair being of the same size and the pairs being of different size, an auxiliary supply tank communicating with the main source of supply, a filling pipe leading from said auxiliary supply tank and communicating with each of said containers through a series of branches, said containers havlng transparent front portions whereby their contents may be observed, each of said containers having a feed pipe and a discharge pipe, normally closed valve means in each of said delivery pipes and in each of said feed pipes, the valve in the delivery pipe of one container of a pair being arranged adjacent to the valve in the feed pipe of the other container of said pair, and hand levers for simultaneously operating the valve in the feed pipe of one container of a pair and the valve in the discharge pipe of the other container of said pair, whereby one container of a pair will empty while the other is being filled.

3. A gasolene dispensing apparatus comprising a plurality of containers, each of said. containers having an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe, valves in said inlet pipes and in said outlet pipes, the valve in the inlet pipe of a container bein arranged adjacent to the valve in the out et pipe of another container, said adjacent valves being normally closed and a hand lever for simultaneously operating said adjacent valves to open the same, whereby one of said containers is permitted to be emptied and the other of said containers is permitted to be filled.

4. A gasolene dispensing apparatus comprising a plurality of containers, each of said containers having an inlet and an outlet, separate valves to control the inlet and outlet of a container, said valves being nor-- mally closed, and a plurality of independent valve operating means, each of which is adapted to simultaneously operate the valve in the inlet of one container and the valve in the outlet of another container to open both of said valves, whereby one of said containers is permitted to be filled and the other of sand containers is permitted to be emptied.

5. A gasolene dispensing apparatus comprising a plurality of containers arranged in pairs, the containers of a pair bein of the same size and the pairs being of sizes, eachof said containers having an inlet and an outlet, separate valves to control the inlet and outlet of a container, said valves being normally closed, and a pluralit of independent valve operating means each of which is adapted to simultaneously operate the valve in the inlet of one container of a pair and the valve in the outlet of the other container of said pair to open said valves, whereby one of said containers is permitted to be filled and the other ofsaid containers is permitted to be emptied;

6. A liquid dispensing apparatus comprising a plurality of containers arranged in pairs, each of said containers having a normally closed inlet and a normally closed outlet, a supply tank communicating with the inlet of each container, a discharge pipe communicating with the outlet of each container, and means for simultaneously opening the inlet of one container of a desired pair and the outlet of the other container of said pair whereby one container of a pair will empty whlle the other is being filled, each container of a pair bein of the same size and the pairs being of 'flt'erent sizes, whereby said apparatus is adapted to dispense different amounts of liquids.

Signed at St. Louis, Missouri, this 16th day of March, 1920.

DAVID G. FRAZIER. 

